OHSAS Standard 18001 And What It Involves
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The ISO standard 18001 is also known as OHSAS 18001 and was created for occupational and health safety management systems. This system is an audit/certification specification and is not a requirement or guide for implementation practices. The system based on existing criteria that has been published regarding this management regulations.
Becoming certified is a way of showing that a company is dedicated to implementing managing and maintaining health and safety systems. The certification is also designed to help companies be more confident that they are abiding by the rules. Another plus to obtaining this certification is that a company can constantly improve on existing health and safety procedures.
This system is compliant with 9000 quality and 14000 environmental management system standards. The compliance is designed to monitor the integration of quality, environmental, safety, health and occupational system standards by organizations. The OHSAS specification provides requirements for an occupational health and safety management system.
There are many benefits to implementing this system into an organization that has other systems in place or no systems at all. Some of these benefits include ways to minimize or eliminate risk to employees and other individuals who may be exposed to risks associated with company activities. Also companies have the added implementation options to maintain and improve the current system.
In order to start the process of becoming certified, the first step is the evaluation process which includes the safety of all personnel entering and leaving the building. Along with the evaluation, risk assessments also need to be conducted so plans can be created should an accident occur and also plans can be created to negate the risks entirely. Once the evaluations and assessments are complete they are then compiled into documentation format.
Upon creating the documentation regarding the new policies and procedures a company will have to undergo an audit process. The process begins with an internal auditing of the documentation which ensures the policies are effectively working. In addition the process will also be used to ensure the policies are adhering to legislative guidelines that are already put in place.
Upon completion of the internal audit processes the next phase is to call in an external company that will perform additional audits. The external audit will again review the documentation regarding policies and procedures and also review the system while it is in effect. In order to receive a proper external audit, the third party company must be accredited and licensed to perform such inspections.
If the company passes the external audit they are granted their ISO standard 18001 certification. At this time they can add it to existing certifications or if there are none they can proudly display it as their first. Having a certification such as this proves that a company will go the extra mile to protect employees and visitors from harm. |
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Author Resource:-
Extra reading OHSAS 18001 and OHSAS 18001
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By :
Paul Carder
Submitted
2011-11-17 08:39:19 |
Article From Article Mayhem
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